Morningside has won their tenth club premiership with a thrilling nine-point victory over the previously undefeated Broadbeach. Aside from a 15-minute patch in the second quarter, the Panthers were the better side all day and are very deserving premiers. Superstar midfielder Matthew Payne backed up his third Grogan Medal win during the week by earning the Joe Grant Medal for best on ground in the Grand Final. At age 35, this is an incredible feat to go with another premiership medallion.

Fans piled into Yeronga for the clash and delivered an amazing atmosphere. Yeronga is a beautiful ground, but it is also much smaller than these two sides were used to. Broadbeach were the best side through the home and away season and were hungry for their first flag since 1996. Morningside had only lost one game for the season, which was to their Grand Final rivals by 50 points in Round 9. They clearly learnt a lot from that game, as they immediately got their matchups right and controlled the stoppages for the majority of the match.

It was a good old-fashioned arm wrestle early, as both sides had their opportunities but failed to capitalise. After some nice work from Saxon Crozier on the wing, former Brisbane Lions rookie Reuben William snapped the opening goal of the game at the ten-minute mark. Broadbeach immediately responded with a goal through Kai Sheers after he won a free kick for too high. There was plenty of heat in the contest early, including a brutal bump to the head of classy Morningside half-back William Pendlebury. Although the start was a bit scrappy, this was mainly due to the relentless pressure being applied by both sides. Morningside got another goal after a poor handball from Bailey Reeves went straight into the hands of young Panthers forward Nathan Colenso. The Panthers went into quarter time with a seven-point buffer that probably should have been more given the number of chances they had late in the quarter.

Morningside had a chance to snag one early in the second, but they kicked a behind. From that kick in, Connor Nutting started a great piece of transition play with a strong contested mark at half-back. Broadbeach went end-to-end and Ryan Gilmore kicked their second goal. Livewire forward Josh Gore followed this with a goal from a stoppage, then a bit of individual brilliance from Brandon Chadwick gave the Cats some breathing space. Morningside committed a shocking turnover coming out of defence just minutes later, and Blake Erickson capitalised with a goal from 50. This made it four unanswered goals for Broadbeach, and it looked like they were about to run away with the game in similar fashion to Round 9. However, Morningside responded this time. Blake Coleman put through an important goal after some great run and link-up down the outer wing, then key forward Matthew Hammelmann clunked a contested mark in the pocket and put through a clever snap to bring his side back within four points. Exciting Panthers duo Coleman and William took over from there, kicking back-to-back unbelievable soccer goals to give their side an eight-point lead at the half.

In the opening minute of the third, Gilmore got an unfortunate concussion when diving for a mark on the 50-metre arc and as a result did not take any further part in the game, but did earn a free kick for that contest. Former Gold Coast player Clay Cameron was able to take the shot, but his kick faded late with the breeze and hit the post. The Panthers went straight down the other end and Hammelmann booted through his second from a set shot outside 50. The game went back and forth in the third until Gore got loose in the goal square and kicked his second for the day. Morningside held a seven-point lead at the final change.

The Panthers absolutely suffocated Broadbeach for the first half of the final term, as the Cats could not get any quick forward movement going out of their defence. More individual brilliance from William on the goal line gave the Panthers a 13-point lead early in the term, then Payne almost kicked a goal straight from the centre clearance but just did not get enough purchase on the kick. Morningside had a couple more golden chances to put the game away, including a set shot to Coleman after he took an amazing hanger in the forward pocket. He missed the shot, then hit the post with a difficult snap from a stoppage just moments later. Broadbeach were very lucky to be within three goals at this stage, as the ball had barely exited their defensive half the whole quarter. Finally, the Cats got themselves a forward stoppage at the 19-minute mark and Cameron put through a clever snap on the left. This brought the margin back to ten points and Broadbeach had all the play for the next five minutes. Then, the unimaginable happened. The Cats earned a free kick in the goal square for a hold and would have kicked a certain goal. However, one of the Cats players elected to take the advantage, snapped at goal, and kicked a behind.

From there, Hayden Bertoli-Simmonds stood up with two clutch intercept marks. Although he missed his chance to become an unlikely goal scorer from a set shot, he did well to get the ball to the other end and take some time off the clock. The Cats went end-to-end from the kick in, but Panthers defender Bradley Dale ran back with the flight to take an outstanding mark five metres out from their defensive goal. The siren went just seconds later, and Morningside finished with an astonishing eight-point victory. It made for remarkable scenes at the ground as many players, coaches and fans ran onto the field to celebrate with the Morningside team. It has to be considered one of the great grand final victories in recent memory, and the jubilant post-match scenes were exactly what footy is all about.

While stars including Payne, Pendlebury and William will understandably get most of the attention, some young prospects also stood up under immense pressure.

Broadbeach 1.1 | 5.1 | 6.5 | 7.8 (50)
Morningside 2.2 | 6.3 | 7.6 | 8.11 (59)

GOALS:

Broadbeach: J. Gore 2, B. Erickson, R. Gilmore, K. Sheers, B. Chadwick, C. Cameron
Morningside: N/A at time of publishing

BROADBEACH:

#31 Aiden Fyfe

Fyfe was given third best by the Broadbeach staff on the day, and I would agree with this assessment. He played at half-back for most of the game, a role he has proven to play very well. Fyfe took a nice contested mark against Crozier in a one-on-one contest from a kick in early, then found his target in Chadwick down the wing with a beautifully weighted kick. He was great in one-on-ones all day, highlighted when he had another huge win in one of these situations at half-back in the last quarter. Fyfe out-bodied his opponent brilliantly in this contest, proving that he is much stronger than one would think.

Fyfe’s desperation in defence was noticeable all day, as he worked hard to track down loose balls and not allow opposition forwards any clean possessions. He was willing to push up to lock the ball in his side’s forward line, and he was good at getting onto his left and delivering some quick forward entries to the advantage of forwards.

Fyfe has strong hands under pressure, as shown when he took a nice contested mark at the 23-minute mark of the final term. He is also willing to fly as the third man up to help his teammates in defence, which was evident when he took an intercept mark in the opposition’s goal square during the third quarter. Fyfe also has a booming left-foot kick, works to get a lot of handball receives and has the composure to kick the ball short when necessary. Although he has a reliable short kick in defence, he did give one kick across goal in the third term a bit too much air and it was intercepted. Thankfully, the end result was only a stoppage. This was the only noticeable mistake Fyfe made through the entire match.

#35 Josh Gore

Gore, a lively small forward, was Broadbeach’s only multiple goal scorer on the day. He applied plenty of forward pressure early in the game, highlighted by a strong tackle on Pendlebury at a stoppage. His speed and intense pressure forced opponents to rush their kicks out of defence, and this led to multiple turnovers and repeat inside 50s for his side. In the second term, Gore got on the end of a chain of handballs from a forward 50 stoppage to kick a nice goal and give his side the lead. At the 16-minute mark of the third, he read the flight of the ball well to take a mark and kick his second from the goal square. He finished with 2.2, as twice in the game he misjudged the breeze and missed set shots that he should have nailed. Gore’s finish to the game was strong, as he was one of the few Cats players that moved the ball forward quickly at half-forward.

#56 Bailey Reeves

Reeves’ work rate was outstanding once again on Saturday, as he worked tirelessly from contest to contest to have an impact. The wingman provided a short lead-up target through the centre of the ground on numerous occasions, and he always held his marks. However, he often chose to kick long to a contest from wing and half-forward positions. Reeves’ main highlight of the day was a courageous intercept mark flying across the pack in the defensive 50 during the second term. His tackling was consistently strong and he never shied away from a contest. A lowlight was a poor forward handball in defence that handed Colenso a goal during the first term. If Reeves maintains his exceptional work ethic and continues to refine his skills, he should be a good player for a long time.

MORNINGSIDE:

#23 Blake Coleman

Coleman played deep in the forward 50 for the Panthers and was undoubtedly one of their best players. The Brisbane Lions Academy prospect started the match with a lead-up mark in the opening minute and a strong tackle on Kwaby Boakye. Coleman used his electric speed to find space from his opponent early and provide a great option for teammates moving the ball forward.

He took a nice mark back with the flight on the wing early in the second quarter, then delivered a short pass onto the chest of Colenso. Just 15 seconds later, he pushed forward to apply pressure and cause a turnover, which highlighted how hard Coleman was willing to work to get to contests during this game. He kicked his first goal for the day shortly after to shift the momentum back Morningside’s way after four unanswered goals by Broadbeach. Coleman started the play on the wing with a handball inside, then burst forward hard to get on the end of the link up play and kick a simple goal in the square. He kicked another goal in the same quarter with a soccer from the goal square to put his side back in front.

Coleman frequently used his elite leaping ability to fly for marks. Multiple defenders went with him when he jumped for marks because he is so dangerous in the air, and this created space for his teammates on the ground. At the start of third, he won an important one-on-one marking contest at half-forward then composed himself to find Hammelmann with a clever short pass inside 50.

At the start of the last quarter, Coleman was very lively once again. He repeatedly collected the ball cleanly off the ground and could not be tackled because of his impressive combination of strength, speed and agility. Coleman took an absolute screamer in the forward pocket at the 12-minute mark that will be on his highlight reel for the years to come. He missed the tricky set shot from the boundary, and just minutes later he hit the post with a difficult snap from a stoppage. Coleman played a major role in making Morningside’s win happen and Brisbane Lions fans should be ecstatic about what may potentially be coming their way next year. 

#27 Saxon Crozier

Crozier backed up his outstanding game last week with another strong performance in the Grand Final. He started the game on fire, positioning himself well defensively at stoppages and using brilliant hands and link up through the middle on numerous occasions. He showed composure in a contest at the seven-minute mark when others were panicking under pressure, and his handball inside set up the opening score of the game. Crozier followed this up with a clean collect off the ground while running down the wing, then composed himself to get an inside 50 to set up the opening goal of the game.

In the second term, he took too long to get rid of the ball a couple of times and got caught by tackles and smothers from the opposition. However, Crozier adjusted to Broadbeach’s increased intensity late in the term and went back to having his usual impact. He combined nicely with Toby Triffett by hand in traffic to get an inside 50, then laid an important tackle to win a holding the ball decision at half-forward.

Crozier produced a clever rove at a stoppage early in the third to move the ball forward. He always retains his width at stoppages, which gets him easy possessions while others get sucked into the contest. Crozier’s tackling intensity definitely lifted in the third term, highlighted when he laid a strong tackle on Gore in defensive 50. He was also composed in traffic, as shown when he spun around opponents and took tackles whilst giving handballs to create space for teammates.

In the last, a beautiful left-foot kick down the line to Liam Dwyer demonstrated how competent Crozier is on both sides of his body. He repeatedly took some sting out of the contest in this term by chipping the ball around with teammates to control possession. This has become a regular feature of Crozier’s game, as he runs hard in final quarters when his team is in front to get these possessions all over the ground. It gave his tired teammates some time to rest and successfully took time off the clock.

#32 Nathan Colenso

Colenso played his role as a lead-up forward very well on the big stage. He kicked an early goal with a left foot snap after intercepting an errant handball, and had a chance to kick a second later in the term. This came about because Colenso played in front while his defender lagged off him, so was able to take an uncontested diving mark from a quick kick inside 50. However, he missed the shot at goal. He took a couple of lead-up marks down the corridor in the second term, but he was not sighted too much otherwise. In the third, he laid a strong tackle at half-forward to earn holding the ball decision at the 21-minute mark. His tackling has been outstanding this year, as he always makes opponents pay when they try to take him on. Colenso laid another strong tackle at start of the last quarter to earn a free kick and kicked long to find Hammelmann at half-forward. His kicking is usually quite reliable, and this was no exception. 

#35 Toby Triffett

Triffett was made for a tough, congested, high-pressure final like this. He is a contested animal that attacks the ball with pace and loves to lay a strong tackle. Early in the game he played as a forward, where he crumbed contests with intensity and aimed to create chaos. In the second quarter, he laid a huge crunching tackle on the wing that left his opponent slow to get up. He also linked up well down the wings to help his teammates transition the ball. After Broadbeach hit the lead, Triffett ran from the forward 50 into centre square to win an important centre clearance for his side. He was moved into the middle shortly after, which showed how much the coaches trust him because this was when Broadbeach were getting on top. Triffett won many contested possessions in there and aggressively sought to find his own footy. With some clean quick hands in tight on the wing, Triffett released a teammate and helped set up an important goal to Coleman. He continued his contested ways in the second half with some more strong tackles, and he also took a couple of important marks at half-forward.

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